


Just Listen

by icemakestars



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Comforting, F/M, Fluff, Mourning, Nightmares, Sadness, friends being idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:57:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5098271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik wakes up after 'hearing' Meredy's nightmare. Knowing that he is the only person awake, Erik is faced with the fact that only he can offer comfort to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Listen

**Author's Note:**

> MY FIRST WORK FOR THIS PAIR! Which is shocking, because I think about them constantly. Ah well, they're a beautiful thing and I hope more people will ship them c:
> 
> Follow me on tumblr for more Merik goodness- @ice-bringer

 

Erik jolted in his sleep, eyes pried open, lips ready to yell. If there was a spike in someone's mind, Erik was often pulled out of the task in hand, whether it be hunting, jesting, or in this case, sleeping. The mental voice which tore him from slumber was close, but not dangerously so. Knowing now that he had time to evaluate and react, Erik calmed down his racing heart. He glanced around, but saw no sign of an intruder. Sitting straight up in his blankets, Erik stretched out the aches in his limbs and gave his surroundings a proper inspection.

The fire had long since burned out, and the smoky memory of it clung to his bed sheets like a child to a mother. He wrinkled his nose in distaste, and then pushed himself from the ground. Around him, the other members of Crime Sorciere were still asleep. Jellal lay on his back, open to attacks, and Sawyer snored loudly. Sorano had curled into a ball and was frowning with a nightmare. As he watched, Sorano un-tucked herself and rolled onto her back, lying spread-eagle in her tangled quilts. Only her and Macbeth dreamt that night, and Erik listened to them in the same way he listened to their thoughts. Climbing over Richard's outstretched arm and Sorano's sprawled legs, Erik went in search for the only member of the guild who was not present: Meredy.

Erik followed her voice, which sounded loud and broken in his sleep deprived mind, to the stream near their campsite. He approached her from behind, using the same quiet care he would use if trying not to antagonise a young doe.  

"Is that you, Erik?" Meredy's voice was small, but did not waver. Erik was proud of her for that.  

Not knowing how to respond, Erik felt awkward. "Yes."  

"I guess you're not as stealthy as you thought you were." Judging by the frown lining Meredy's pale skin, the laugh she offered sounded fake even to her own ears.  

"Guess not." The silence was unbearable, but Erik thought he might prefer it to his moronic parroting.  

"Why are you up this early? It's almost four." She turned back to face the stream, hugging her knees to her face. Hiding it from him, Erik noted. As if he hadn't read her mind. As if he didn't know that she had been crying.

"I was woken up." He spoke casually, slowly edging his way towards Meredy.

"Oh yeah, by what?" The lyrical undertone to her voice was so forced, Erik had to flinch. He eased himself onto the ground beside her, leaning back on his palms and shutting his eyes. The wind was cooler than when they had all gone to sleep, and Erik pulled his collar erect against his neck.

"If somebody gets emotional at a rapid speed, their mind gets louder, like it's screaming. It can cause me an awful lot of headaches, especially when it's Sorano's voice."

Even though Meredy still did not face him, the sudden tenseness of her shoulders showed her recognition. Erik coughed once, daring a listen into her mind. It was jumbled and shrill, sadness lacing through the panicked undertones. He sat forward and mirrored her position, only his legs were stretched in front of him, and not hunched up like Meredy's were.  

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He tried to make his voice soft, but it had been so long since he had needed to comfort somebody... Meredy smiled at his efforts nonetheless, and shifted her body so that she was angled towards him.

She sighed, pressing her face further down against her legs and squeezing her eyes shut. "Not especially, no." It was an incoherent mumble against her flesh, but Erik nodded his understanding. They had only been members of Crime Sorciere for a few weeks, and he was still a stranger. Why would Meredy want to talk about something so personal with somebody who she hardly knew?

"Okay." Erik was being awkward again, and he knew it. But being soft and gentle was not something which came with ease to him, and he couldn't help but wish that Richard or even Sorano had woken up alongside him. Maybe they would have the words to say. Maybe they could help make things better. Maybe-

"I mean, thank you, and everything. It's not you, it's me- no, wait, that sounds like a breakup! Not like we were ever together, or anything... gah, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore!" Meredy's voice babbled into the night, her eyes wide and skin flushed with embarrassment. She looked up, eyes glazed with determination and lips set in a strong pout, and met his amused gaze.  

"It's a year tomorrow since we lost Ultear." Leaves clattered around them in restless breeze, the weather representing Erik's own agitation as he realised what had happened. The nightmare Meredy had been having was about losing her closest friend, and instead of opening up about it to a member of their guild, she had chosen to cry alone in the middle of the night.

"I'm so sorry." Erik had heard the thoughts and read the rhymes of many poets and scholars over the years, and yet the words he chose to comfort held the sincerity of a salted slug. In anger, he reached forward and clutched Meredy's shoulder. Off balance, she toppled into his chest. Immediately, Erik wrapped his arms around her. She yelped in shock, squirmed against his grip, and then let herself settle. Into her hair Erik whispered 'I really am sorry'.  

"It’s okay." Meredy assured, a tinge of amusement tainting her tone. Erik knew that this behaviour was out of character for him, and that he would have to beg Meredy to keep it from Sorano and Jellal (especially Jellal, Erik might add. He had already tasted the heavenly body magic once- and had the scars to prove it. He didn't want to suffer the same fate because Jellal was a little protective over his younger companion). However, Erik knew that he had a weakness which stemmed from his time in the Tower of Heaven; he just cannot ignore a crying girl. That is how he first befriended Sorano all of those years ago, and it's how he found himself teasing knots out of Meredy's soft pink hair.

He spoke no more, knowing that anything else he said would sound forced and harsh in his brutish, cold voice. Instead, he continued to hold Meredy until her body went slack and her breaths came in short, even pants. With a bemused smile, Erik scooped the petite woman into his arms and made his way back to camp. Her hair smelt like berries and smoke, but his dragon slayer nose detected hints of leather and the warm, dusty smell of wool. Erik glanced fondly at the sleeping girl before shifting her weight so that he could see over her body, carefully avoiding their guildmates as he lowered her back onto her sheets.  

There was a stirring behind him, and Erik immediately tensed. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.  

The voice resonated in his mind, loud and clear and mocking. _"I didn't realise that 'cute sakura' was your type, Erik._ "  

_"Not now, Sorano."_  The sigh was audible both in their mind and in the space between them. He turned to glare at her, but Sorano merely quirked an eyebrow in response, reaching up to tuck a pale strand of hair behind her ears. 

_"There are a few celestial spirits who meet that criteria, as well as that fiery boy from Fairy Ta-"_

_"Piss off!"_  Erik growled, not glancing at Sorano's smirk as he noiselessly stomped back to his blankets. Lying down and purposefully facing away from the female wizard, Erik tried his best to ignore the musical laughter which plagued his mind. Sorano did not reply after that, and Erik hoped that she had gone to sleep.

Instead of worrying about her, his thoughts drifted to Meredy. Her eyes were the same shade of green as the Bells of Ireland his mother used to grow, her smile radiating the same nurturing and gentle nature that only a family could provide. Everything about Meredy reminded Erik of home, and maybe that was because he no longer had one, or maybe it was because he had become so weak to her in such a small space of time. Although he could not decide, Erik also found himself not caring about the answer; the result was the same, anyway.

Rolling around onto his back, Erik spared a quick glance at Sorano, checking that she was asleep. Instead, he was met with laughing grey eyes.  

_"You've got it ba-d."_ She drew out the 'a' sound for so long that Erik physically recoiled. Her hand snaked up to cover her mouth and hide her giggles. She then flopped onto her back, staring up at the sky and smiling. Assuming that he was not going to get a further response, Erik did the same.

_"… and I'm totally telling Jellal in the morning."_

Erik groaned aloud, covering his face with his hands and dragging them across his features. That night, his sleeping mind was colourless, Erik's only dream was that his inevitable end would be swift and painless.  


End file.
